I think a lot of people can draw shapes to make a map, but they are lacking those tricks of how to take the map to the next graphic level. To give it that something extra. I like to use grunge overlays on my maps to give them a gritty natural feel. Here's how I do it (I use photoshop CS3, but the technique can be used in other software as well).

First do a google search for GRUNGE or better yet, a DeviantART search. I did, and found this on the first page of results:

At this point, you should have the map drawn. This simple map has a border layer and a land layer. The ocean was the background layer.

Here I've added 2 grunge layers. One for the land, and one for the ocean. For the land, I added a layer mask to mask out just the land. Check out the blending settings also. Experiment with different styles - depending on the hue of your land, the settings will have different results.

Then add some layer styles to give the map some flare.

And you end up with this. The grunge layer is not overwhelming. Just enough to make the map a little more realistic.

And I went through the trouble to figure out how you did the texture on your maps just a day ago.You'll be able to see my results in the next WCA's Tablet. I think I did ok without the tutorial.

As an alternative to Google and dA, I'd like to suggest http://www.cgtextures.com/.Its got thousands of free, huge textures. Most on the scale of 3k-4k pixels across. Try the Stone, Leather, cement, and metal sections. Those are good for maps. Or try the other sections also. There's good stuff everywhere on that site.

Last edited by wcaclimbing on Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

wcaclimbing wrote:As an alternative to Google and dA, I'd like to suggest http://www.cgtextures.com/.Its got thousands of free, huge textures. Most on the scale of 3k-4k pixels across. Try the Stone, Leather, cement, and metal sections. Or try the other sections also. There's good stuff everywhere on that site.

wcaclimbing wrote::roll: And I went through the trouble to figure out how you did the texture on your maps just a day ago.You'll be able to see my results in the next WCA's Tablet. I think I did ok without the tutorial.

As an alternative to Google and dA, I'd like to suggest http://www.cgtextures.com/.Its got thousands of free, huge textures. Most on the scale of 3k-4k pixels across. Try the Stone, Leather, cement, and metal sections. Those are good for maps. Or try the other sections also. There's good stuff everywhere on that site.

Sorry wca, but glad you figured it out on your own. And nice link. I've not come across that page. Thanks. I hope that some of our newer cartos will use (but not over-use) this technique for the newer maps in development.

Thanks for the reference! I don't have a creative bone in my body, unfortunately, but my partner is into digital scrapbooking and I thought that she might enjoy that site, if she didn't know about it already. She didn't (know) and she did (like). Points for me and CC, which can only be a good thing.

Btw, I would just like to say how much I appreciate all the work that the mapmakers do. I'm sure it's a labor of love but, still, the variety and great quality of maps available here is what makes this site what it is, imo.

Ffraid wrote:Btw, I would just like to say how much I appreciate all the work that the mapmakers do. I'm sure it's a labor of love but, still, the variety and great quality of maps available here is what makes this site what it is, imo.

Thanks (from myself and all the other mapmakers)

-----------------------Here's the image I made for the Tablet, in case you didn't go and read it.Do you guys think I did ok with the grunge effect?The only thing I don't like is the thick black border around the land. I messed it up and didn't want to take the time to go back and fix it.

I have used grunge textures for many things and i have liked the way they turned out, but I have a hard time finding good grunge textures that work well on maps.Does anyone have any good sites besides deviant art (which sometimes gives you viruses, btw) or just Google?

captainwalrus wrote:No offense, but I would never use that in a map, unless I am going to have it at less than 20% opacity. It doesn't look natural

That's just an example. It's just to show that the process is feasible, if you pay a little more attention to the details than I did with this one...

Of course you can also make your own grunge textures. Take a digital camera and take a photo of any surface that looks interesting... then play with the HSV settings, possibly invert colours if it's too light or dark, and there you go... I'm going to try it today.